How Can a Farmer Participate?

(1) REGIONAL PILOT PROJECTS

The Canadian Field Print Calculator is being used in several regional pilot projects in the Prairies and in Ontario. These pilot projects are being coordinated by grower organizations, individual companies and other Canadian Field Print Initiative participants. The main goal is to develop a regional dataset with the Calculator.

The pilot projects will allow growers to compare their results anonymously with other farms in their region. Information will be shared with participating farmers through a workshop highlighting how best management practices lead to better profitability and better environmental outcomes.

Here is how the Pilot Projects will work:

STEP 1:

Pilot project coordinators will contact farmers to participate and will coordinate data collection.

All participating farmers will receive an outline of the pilot project they wish to participate in. This outline will describe how data privacy for each farmer is being maintained.

STEP 2:

After the data has been processed, the participant will receive a five-page report outlining the estimated sustainability outcomes of their crop against the provincial average for the four indicators.

STEP 3:

Each participating farmer will be invited to a workshop where they will see their Calculator results compared to other regional farmers. Participants and their results will be identified by only a number, not by name or specific location. The workshops will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss which practices show the largest benefit for profitability and the environment, and how there are trade-offs with certain practices (higher yield, but higher greenhouse gases).

(2) INDIVIDUAL FARMERS

Farmers may also use the Calculator on their own, without participating in a pilot project. To do so, download the input sheets for the Calculator here. All that is required is some basic information on farm practices and field operations data. Once completed, please attach the file to an e-mail to Markus Weber at mweber@serecon.ca.

Participants will then receive a five-page report outlining the estimated sustainability outcomes of their crop against the provincial average for four indicators. View report

What Information does the Calculator require?

The Canadian Field Print Calculator requires basic information – legal land location, number of fieldwork operations, and the tillage system used. It then takes about 15 minutes to complete a field’s worth of information. The data input is set up in three layers to reduce duplication of effort: farm data, field data, and crop data.